The Grudge: Exorcism
by Jarl of the North
Summary: I have no idea why it's come to this. I honestly don't. But the stories I found... they were true. I might not have proof of those stories, but I sure as hell have proof of my own. I know all she wants is to protect me... but it's causing us both too much pain... and me too much fear. This is our story; this is my fear; this is her grudge. This has no relation to the movies, R&R.


I do not own the Grudge or anything to do with it. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Grudge movies besides the concept of an Onryo, as it is my own story.

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I backed up against the wall as the horrible mockery of my older sister released its grip on the bloody, mutilated corpse of the final member of the group of murderous criminals that had broken into what had once been my home, letting it fall to the ground with a wet splatter of dead, rotting flesh against wood, the strong stench of blood filling the air. Too afraid to make a noise, I felt my own breath stop in my throat and begin to choke me as the blood-soaked... _thing_ turned its gaze on me, barely sparing a glance at the corpses strewn throughout the room, not even the one it so closely resembled before beginning its approach on me, the deathly pale skin that wasn't covered in blood and the long tangled hair that was darker than the starless sky outside catching the moonlight. The edges of its eyes were ringed with black, as if the thing were suffering from insomnia, and I found myself transfixed by its gaze; its eyes were like the pits of hell, the whites almost completely red and bloodshot, and there was no distinction between the pupil and iris. Its strides were long and slow, and it clearly towered over me in the likeness of my sister, Kelyn, who'd been over six feet tall to begin with. Its clothes were in filthy tatters, little more than strips of cloth stretched over a well-endowed body. Darkness approached from all sides, as if heeding some kind of call the mock-up that was slowly approaching me emitted, groveling before it like some kind of dog. Its breathing was harsh and ragged, as if its vocal cords had been torn out by a pit-bull and put back in place by an amateur surgeon, and its face was almost an exact copy of my sister's, somehow beautiful and somewhat calming in the moonlight in spite of the blood that dripped down its cheeks like tears, the only differences being the unnatural paleness of the skin, the blackness of the hair... and those eyes. Those horrible eyes... but even those were somewhat reminiscent of my sister, somehow, in some way...

But this demon was not my sister. It couldn't be Kel. She... she wouldn't do something like this. She wouldn't! She could never bring herself to simply butcher someone like that!

I didn't even think. I just scrambled to my feet and bolted, stumbling over my old man's corpse and knocking a picture to the floor, the glass shattering as the frame collided with the hardwood floorboards.

I didn't give a damn. All that mattered was getting away from that monster.

I ran through the unblemished halls, not bothering searching for the light; the power had been cut, meaning there was no hope of light, or for the police to show up, as I had no cellphone to call them with. I cursed my dad for not letting me have one, but immediately cringed with regret as the image of his corpse flooded my mind.

The creak of footfalls on the wood snapped me out of my trance, and I forced myself not to look back. I kept going until I finally found the basement door, throwing it open and slamming it back shut behind me as I entered total darkness, putting the bolt lock in place, though I knew it was hopeless. The thing that was following me had lifted a fully grown man clear off the ground with no effort before it tore out his throat; there was no way that lock would hold. Hell, I doubted that it would even notice.

But I hadn't come down here to hunker down and hope that it wouldn't find me. I'd come down here to find the cellar door, probably my only way out at this point; the other doors had been barricaded, and the windows were too high to jump without breaking something. And if I broke something, there was no way I could escape.

I stumbled blindly down the stairs through the darkness, my heart threatening to break my ribs from the inside out, my breaths as harsh and ragged as that thing that had chased me down here, tears running down my face as I finally managed to choke out a sob. I'd lost everything tonight. My family, my life. Gone. All because some criminals decided that we were the next house to hit. And to make things worse, that cheap knock-off of my sister that had killed them was now after me.

Life... what did I ever do to you?

I shook my head hard, and rushed through the dark, scrambling along the wall and muttering every prayer I knew of between my barely audible sobs as I searched for the cellar door. The only sounds were the shuffling of my own feet on the carpet, the scraping of my hands as they caressed the walls, and my harsh breathing. But that soon changed when I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth in satisfaction when I finally gripped the handle of the cellar door, thrusting it open and running to the very back, the air growing colder as I approached my only hope of exit; the metal doors that led to the cellar from the outside.

The ones that were currently chained shut.

I froze as the memory of my dad sealing the doors shut returned to me the instant my hands came into contact with he cold metal handles, held together by the iron tethers that man had decided to call chains. I felt tears well up in my eyes again as hopelessness flooded me, making me fall to my knees as I released the handles, "oh, no... no... oh, fucking God, no..." I drove my fist into the cold concrete beneath me, "NO!"

I took a deep breath, trying to force the cold solace of calm back into my veins as I felt my mind wander in thought. All I needed to do was find the key and make it back here, and I was home free. Easy enough-

My fragile thoughts were broken by the unmistakable sound of a door swinging open, and heavy footsteps descending the staircase to the basement. My blood turned to ice as the sound continued, and I knew there was no way I'd find the key before that thing killed me. The only way I was getting out now was if I broke the chain.

Cold jolted up my arm as my hands wrapped around the cold, smooth surface of the bottle, the closest thing I could get my hands on, as I brought it down on the chain with all my might. My hands jolted with pain as the glass bottle shattered, splattering its alcoholic contents all over the floor and doors, but not putting a single dent in the chain. I didn't even notice the fresh cuts in my hands as I grabbed something else, proceeding to smash every heavy object I got my hands on into the chain, but no matter what I did to the thing, it didn't even dent; and that thing was getting ever closer.

As I finally hefted the heavy crowbar my dad had kept down here, the harsh breathing once again reached my ears again, and I froze. I felt myself begin to turn around, and I couldn't stop myself. There wasn't a single hope that I could have kept myself from looking. I stared as the silhouette of the monster that was the artist of the grisly spectacle upstairs stood in the open doorway, its ragged breathing seeming to be mere inches from my ears as it once again began its approach on me, the fingers of one hand flexing as if it were preparing to strangle me, the other clasped on some kind of object.

Everything snapped back into focus as I drove the crowbar in my hands into the chain. Again and again metal collided against metal, but to no avail; the chain finally began to dent, but denting metal and breaking it are two different things. I stiffened in an instant of horrible realization as thin strands black as the darkness around me crept from the shadows, all together in a mass as thick and massive as a sheer ocean of pure black oil, and wrapped themselves around the handles of doors, binding them in place with even more strength than the chain before snaking out and wrapping themselves around the crowbar and gently tugged at it, trying to get it out of my grip.

I practically threw the thing away as I grabbed onto the handles of the cellar doors, thrashing against them with all my might as each footfall of the creature behind me became like a drum beat, in perfect time with each of my heartbeats, a countdown of my final moments in this world.

"Let me out! Let me out, damn you!" I shouted at the door, my hysteria making it seem like the gate was watching, laughing at my feeble attempt to escape my fate, "let me out! I don't wanna die here! Please, God, don't leave me to die here!"

I glanced back at the nightmare that was now less than four feet away from me. My breath caught in my throat again as I released my grip on the doors and pressed my back up against them, trying to back away as far as I could from the monstrosity, sliding down the doors until I was sitting on the ground, the strands - the demon's hair, I finally realized - slipping across my torso, binding me there like a prisoner in chains, insanely gentle for what it was meant to do. And all the while, the thing kept just coming, towering over me even as it kneeled down to look me in the eyes, some of the blood on its body dripping onto my face. I began to tremble, tears making my vision blurry as the thing loomed over me, crouching ever closer, arms outstretched as if to wrap me in an embrace. I shut my eyes, letting out a low whimper as I tried to mentally prepare myself for death. I stiffened as the cold skin of the demon's arms wrapped around me, and gave a flinch as I prepared for the sensation of pain that would undoubtedly accompany my death.

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And that concludes my first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, as there will be more to come. Please don't hate me for not including anything from the actual series in this.


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